His thoughts, words and deeds have been celebrated in dozens of books, countless column inches and on colossal propaganda billboards scattered across the land.

Now China’s larger-than-life leader, Xi Jinping, is set to appear in his first television series, a 45-part drama depicting the time he spent in rural China during the Cultural Revolution.

The drama, called Liangjiahe after the deprived hamlet in Shaanxi province where a young Xi lived from 1968 to 1975, was recently approved by China’s television regulator, state media announced this week.

“It will tell the stories of ordinary people and their struggles,” the Shaanxi Daily newspaper reported, noting that Xi’s seven years in the community had shaped his “determined” character.

Wen Haojie, a Chinese film-maker whose previous works include a wartime drama called Chongqing Spy War, will reportedly write the screenplay.

Officially, Liangjiahe will focus on the lives of all those who resided there during the 50s, 60s and 70s – not just Xi Jinping, who was exiled to the village two years after Mao’s tumultuous Cultural Revolution began.

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“Why not change the name from Liangjiahe to Xijiahe?” one person suggested on Weibo, China’s Twitter.

Anne-Marie Brady, an expert in Chinese propaganda, said the drama appeared not to be the brainchild of spin doctors in Beijing but rather a local initiative designed to cash in on the president’s story.

Still, the fact that Beijing has not quashed the series indicates it is seen as both politically acceptable and perhaps even useful in bolstering the president’s image.

“If Xi really didn’t like it there would be a [propaganda] notice about it given to media authorities saying don’t promote [it],” said Brady, a professor at New Zealand’s University of Canterbury.

She said period dramas about historical Communist party heroes had been made before. But since Xi became leader in November 2012 there has been an unusually intense focus placed on his past by Chinese television producers.

“In the beginning, fleas troubled him so badly he could hardly sleep … [But] as time passed, the tough work became easier. Xi grew into a capable and hardworking young man in the eyes of the villagers.”

Xi has spoken frequently of his time in the community, which he left in 1975 to study at Beijing’s Tsinghua University. He returned there in February with his wife, the singer Peng Liyuan.

“When we saw the president we were excited and at the same time so astonished that we didn’t know what to say,” villager Shi Chunyang told state media.

Brady said the dramatisation of Xi’s Liangjiahe years would probably boost the president’s desired image as an approachable, likable, handsome man of the people.

Western audiences are constantly bombarded with information about politicians even before they take power, Brady added. But China knew almost nothing about its top leaders. “I think the Chinese population will be interested and intrigued for any glimpse of who is this man and his family history.”